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📊 Where visa-free travel is popular in Africa (and where you can’t go without a visa)

Emmanuel Oyedeji profile image
by Emmanuel Oyedeji
📊 Where visa-free travel is popular in Africa (and where you can’t go without a visa)
Photo by Datingscout / Unsplash

In a surprising turn of events, Seychelles, known for its pristine beaches, azure waters, breathtaking landscapes, and a renowned tourist hotspot for Nigerians, has allegedly imposed a ban on Nigerian passport holders seeking short-term visas or planning holiday trips to the stunning archipelago.

Still unconfirmed, as the Seychelles government has issued no official confirmation or statement regarding any visa restrictions on Nigerian passport holders, the reported ban comes just six months after the two countries signed an agreement for direct flights between them. Before then, Nigeria had a long-standing visa-free agreement with Seychelles which allows Nigerian citizens free entry without a visa for 30 days.

Notably, Seychelles along with two other countries including Nigeria, did not require a travel visa from any of the 53 countries in Africa. This is according to the Africa Visa Openness Index (AVOI), which measures the openness of African countries to visitors from other African countries.

While the veracity of the claims of ban on Nigerian passport holders by Seychelles remains uncertain, if confirmed, it could potentially impact the Africa Visa Openness Index score, potentially setting it back to levels seen in 2016 and 2017 when only one country allowed visa-free entry.

It is worth noting that a significant majority of African countries now offer visa-free travel to nationals of at least five other African countries in 2022. In contrast, 32 countries still require the nationals of at least half of the continent’s countries to obtain a visa before travelling, as the Techloy infographic below shows.

A higher AVOI score indicates a country's increased openness to visitors from other African countries.
Emmanuel Oyedeji profile image
by Emmanuel Oyedeji

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